Drone shipped with battery in it

[John Robinson]

Hi.

Quick question if I may.

Just received my drone back from the repair shop. Opened it up to find a big scratch on the top of the battery (both the drone and battery were 8 days old when I had to send it back. )

More of a concern, the battery was in the Inspire, locked in position. Surely they shouldn't send it like that?

Your opinions?

Kind regards

John

 

[Mad_angler1]

Hi.

Quick question if I may.

Just received my drone back from the repair shop. Opened it up to find a big scratch on the top of the battery (both the drone and battery were 8 days old when I had to send it back. )

More of a concern, the battery was in the Inspire, locked in position. Surely they shouldn't send it like that?

Your opinions?

Kind regards

John

Your Inspire when new ships with the battery in.

There are some strange rules in some countries sending lipo's out of products.

TBH it's just as safe in the craft as anywhere else.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[The Editor]

Hi.

Quick question if I may.

Just received my drone back from the repair shop. Opened it up to find a big scratch on the top of the battery (both the drone and battery were 8 days old when I had to send it back. )

More of a concern, the battery was in the Inspire, locked in position. Surely they shouldn't send it like that?

Your opinions?

Kind regards

John

Apart from you being understandability annoyed at the scratches etc it's perfectly acceptable to ship/carry equipment with batteries installed. There has been one case on here where an Inspire caught fire on a passenger plane but that was a different matter.
Laptops, cameras (I'm talking professional cameras with packs over 100Wh) can be carried with the batteries installed in the device.

 

[John Robinson]

Ah righty. Thanks for the advice. It just seemed strange too me. Im thinking increased chance of potential fire due to the battery being connected to cables but I am sure it would be ok. Couple of other questions if I may? When your Inspire is in travel mode and you put it on a table, does it flex at all. I mean I do not remember my old Inspire moving up and down when I put it down, picked it up from a table by about 2 cm. I mean the measurement from the bottom of the drone to the table. There seems to be a lot more flex in the mechanism. Also the arms. Just above the feet. Should there, or is there any oil or grease in the black plastic joints? 2 of the legs I have seem to have some oil leaking from them. Again never noticed it on my old Inspire but that was older so maybe the oil had leaked out by the time I owned it!

Video: You can download it for a better resolution but I was not putting pressure on the drone, only lifting it up: Dropbox - 20160322_164142.mp4

 

[The Editor]

Ah righty. Thanks for the advice. It just seemed strange too me. Im thinking increased chance of potential fire due to the battery being connected to cables but I am sure it would be ok. Couple of other questions if I may? When your Inspire is in travel mode and you put it on a table, does it flex at all. I mean I do not remember my old Inspire moving up and down when I put it down, picked it up from a table by about 2 cm. I mean the measurement from the bottom of the drone to the table. There seems to be a lot more flex in the mechanism. Also the arms. Just above the feet. Should there, or is there any oil or grease in the black plastic joints? 2 of the legs I have seem to have some oil leaking from them. Again never noticed it on my old Inspire but that was older so maybe the oil had leaked out by the time I owned it!

Video: You can download it for a better resolution but I was not putting pressure on the drone, only lifting it up: Dropbox - 20160322_164142.mp4

Do you mean the main arms are flexing on the landing gear drive or the feet are flexing when you put the Inspire down?
I am thinking it's the latter as the pictures you have posted show the oil leaking from the dampers in the shock absorbers on the feet - Most definitely not right. There should be no oil leaking from them and they should feel springy and have a resistance when compressed.

 

[John Robinson]

Hi again Mr Editor! ;-)

2 different problems. The feet are leaking. 2 of them. Not happy.
Second problem is the travel mode. When you put your Inspire on a table and let go I seem to remember my old "body" of the aircraft just remained where I left it. However when I release the drone body it slumps down 1-2 cm. I can not remember it ever "falling" from my hand like that before. :-(

 

[The Editor]

Hi again Mr Editor! ;-)

2 different problems. The feet are leaking. 2 of them. Not happy.
Second problem is the travel mode. When you put your Inspire on a table and let go I seem to remember my old "body" of the aircraft just remained where I left it. However when I release the drone body it slumps down 1-2 cm. I can not remember it ever "falling" from my hand like that before. :-(

No it shouldn't !
The landing gear should be rock solid. There can be a VERY small amount of free play in the arms where they meet the T-Junction piece but we are talking around 1-2mm of play.
I would not fly your aircraft in that condition.

 

[Skynet1]

Hi.

Quick question if I may.

Just received my drone back from the repair shop. Opened it up to find a big scratch on the top of the battery (both the drone and battery were 8 days old when I had to send it back. )

More of a concern, the battery was in the Inspire, locked in position. Surely they shouldn't send it like that?

Your opinions?

Kind regards

John

If I may be so bold to ask what repair shop had you sent it off to,
DJI or elsewhere.
Had you crashed the model and had sent it in for repairs as result of the crash, or was it because of something else.
I can't see why the repair facility would have returned the model to you in such condition, particularly with oil leaking from the shock absorbers, a very noticeable condition I would think.
The other concern you mentioned may or may not be related to improper adjustment.
In any regard I'm sure you will be in touch with the shop to have these concerns addressed.
As previously mentioned it may be a flight issue as is, and a risk to the aircrafts performance, however others have had issues with the arms and lift mechanism without it becoming a major flight issue.

All the best with getting things right. : )

 

[John Robinson]

No it shouldn't !
The landing gear should be rock solid. There can be a VERY small amount of free play in the arms where they meet the T-Junction piece but we are talking around 1-2mm of play.
I would not fly your aircraft in that condition.

Hi

Ok I have uploaded it to Youtube for those that do not have access so you can see what I am talking about clealy.

If I may be so bold to ask what repair shop had you sent it off to,
DJI or elsewhere.
Had you crashed the model and had sent it in for repairs as result of the crash, or was it because of something else.
I can't see why the repair facility would have returned the model to you in such condition, particularly with oil leaking from the shock absorbers, a very noticeable condition I would think.
The other concern you mentioned may or may not be related to improper adjustment.
In any regard I'm sure you will be in touch with the shop to have these concerns addressed.
As previously mentioned it may be a flight issue as is, and a risk to the aircrafts performance, however others have had issues with the arms and lift mechanism without it becoming a major flight issue.

All the best with getting things right. : )

Hi there. I will quickly go over what has happened.

Received the brand new drone and upon opening it the first problem was that the battery was dead. Contacted the store and 2 days later received a new battery. Charged up the battery and put it in the drone.

Updated the firmware on everything, updated the apps and started it up. First thing I notice is that the camera does not straighten up after calibration. So I did the usual fixes (as per this forum) including IMU calibration x 2 and compass calibration. Nothing worked, still drifted 5 degrees to the right.

Went out flying 2 days later. Did all the usual start up and then took off and hovered for a minute or so. Landed. Took off the props and checked the screws on the mounts. All good so took off again. Flew too about 20 metres away, 10 metres high and all was good. The took it a little higher away and sped up a little and suddenly "Atti-mode" and loss of gps. This area I have flown for ages with many drones including my old Inspire 1 without 1 gps dropout. Nothing new to cause this. Then 3-4 times afterwards while returning to home "Atti-mode" and I landed. I took off the blades, got the wife to record and walked slowly away from the controller at approx 1 metre (carrying the drone) and constant loss of GPS. So I contacted the company I bought it from and explained everything.

In my opinion it arrived with all of these faults. TBH I would of preferred a replacement as to have a repair on what was essentially a brand new product that arrived with 3 "known" faults was a worry to me. I was worried about what faults I did not know about and whether they could repair it.

4 days of arguing and the Norwegian consumer organisation saying I have to give them a chance to "repair" it I had to send it off. Because they quoted in the text that yes I was entitled to a replacement but it clearly stated the replacement is only for the faulty parts. I.e. they are allowed to repair it.

So 10 days later I get it back with leaking oil on 2 feet and this excess movement while in travel mode. Hopefully the video will show more clearly my issues. So now a brand new drone with 5 faults out of the box. (I obviously do not know whether the repair shop damaged the feet and mechanism or it came that way and I did not notice).

It was returned to the shop I purchased it from as they have 2 engineers who had been to Shenzhen for official training and were in the process of getting approval to become an authorised repair centre from DJI. He even sent me a copy of his certificate.

 

[The Editor]

Hi

Ok I have uploaded it to Youtube for those that do not have access so you can see what I am talking about clealy.

Hi there. I will quickly go over what has happened.

Received the brand new drone and upon opening it the first problem was that the battery was dead. Contacted the store and 2 days later received a new battery. Charged up the battery and put it in the drone.

Updated the firmware on everything, updated the apps and started it up. First thing I notice is that the camera does not straighten up after calibration. So I did the usual fixes (as per this forum) including IMU calibration x 2 and compass calibration. Nothing worked, still drifted 5 degrees to the right.

Went out flying 2 days later. Did all the usual start up and then took off and hovered for a minute or so. Landed. Took off the props and checked the screws on the mounts. All good so took off again. Flew too about 20 metres away, 10 metres high and all was good. The took it a little higher away and sped up a little and suddenly "Atti-mode" and loss of gps. This area I have flown for ages with many drones including my old Inspire 1 without 1 gps dropout. Nothing new to cause this. Then 3-4 times afterwards while returning to home "Atti-mode" and I landed. I took off the blades, got the wife to record and walked slowly away from the controller at approx 1 metre (carrying the drone) and constant loss of GPS. So I contacted the company I bought it from and explained everything.

In my opinion it arrived with all of these faults. TBH I would of preferred a replacement as to have a repair on what was essentially a brand new product that arrived with 3 "known" faults was a worry to me. I was worried about what faults I did not know about and whether they could repair it.

4 days of arguing and the Norwegian consumer organisation saying I have to give them a chance to "repair" it I had to send it off. Because they quoted in the text that yes I was entitled to a replacement but it clearly stated the replacement is only for the faulty parts. I.e. they are allowed to repair it.

So 10 days later I get it back with leaking oil on 2 feet and this excess movement while in travel mode. Hopefully the video will show more clearly my issues. So now a brand new drone with 5 faults out of the box. (I obviously do not know whether the repair shop damaged the feet and mechanism or it came that way and I did not notice).

It was returned to the shop I purchased it from as they have 2 engineers who had been to Shenzhen for official training and were in the process of getting approval to become an authorised repair centre from DJI. He even sent me a copy of his certificate.

John, you appear to be in Norway? Although you may not be protected by the European consumer protections do you have anything similar in place for your country?
I would reject this item/product as 'Not fit for purpose' and 'Not of merchantable quality'.
If you still come up against resistance from your dealer with regards to a complete replacement hopefully you paid by credit card? If so, file a claim with your CC company and let them sort it out. They have a joint and several liability and you should be able to claim the money back from them if it comes to that. I would make it clear to your dealer in writing that you are rejecting the product under the terms above.

 

[John Robinson]

John, you appear to be in Norway? Although you may not be protected by the European consumer protections do you have anything similar in place for your country?
I would reject this item/product as 'Not fit for purpose' and 'Not of merchantable quality'.
If you still come up against resistance from your dealer with regards to a complete replacement hopefully you paid by credit card? If so, file a claim with your CC company and let them sort it out. They have a joint and several liability and you should be able to claim the money back from them if it comes to that. I would make it clear to your dealer in writing that you are rejecting the product under the terms above.

Hi again my friend.

Yes it's gotten out of hand now. I sold my old Inspire 1 and purchased a new one so that I could have a newer, better product with a nice new warranty. I haven't even had a chance to use it properly in the month since receiving it.

Can you however confirm that the movement in travel mode is wrong. I can't remember my old inspire doing it.

Thanks to everyone for your help.

 

[The Editor]

Hi again my friend.

Yes it's gotten out of hand now. I sold my old Inspire 1 and purchased a new one so that I could have a newer, better product with a nice new warranty. I haven't even had a chance to use it properly in the month since receiving it.

Can you however confirm that the movement in travel mode is wrong. I can't remember my old inspire doing it.

Thanks to everyone for your help.

No, it's not normal. I have two Inspires (and I have seen/handled countless others). I haven't seen any that have play like that in the arms/landing gear.

 

[John Robinson]

No, it's not normal. I have two Inspires (and I have seen/handled countless others). I haven't seen any that have play like that in the arms/landing gear.

Thank you. Thanks for everything! Much appreciated.

Now I have to find an original case to return it in. Doh. Sent the original case with my old Inspire 1 as I wanted to keep the waterproof hard case I bought with my original one.

Should of just kept my old one. :-( Teach me for buying something new for once.

 

[Skynet1]

I feel badly you've been treated this way. This should have never happen that way for you, but I understand exactly. I had a similar issue when I sent a Phantom 2 model into an authorized repair center and received the model back in a totally inoperable condition.
The model simply would not function as it should, although it was said to have been tested prior to its return.
I ultimately found the repair shop it was sent to would not accept my phone calls or e-mails as result of there faulty work.
I then contacted DJI in LA and voiced my concerns to someone in authority. The model was sent to them and ultimately replaced by DJI.
It would have been good if you had taken immediate action in one form or another by either contacting DJI, or credit card company as previously mentioned. Hopefully, you are able to now get this major concern taken care of with no further concern.
Personally I would have requested an entirely new model, just on GP and for all the aggravation.
Let us know how you make out, and the best of luck.

 

[John Robinson]

Hi there.

Thanks for the advice.

I asked 20 times for a new product. 3 defects when it was delivered. 2 more now. I've only had it less than a few days and all these problems. I was told I HAD to get it repaired. This means shops can ship out faulty products. Even products they have dropped or damaged themselves (demo and previously returned products) and then get the manufacturer to pay for repairs.

I will never trust this drone again. 5 faults that I know about. What happens when the 6th happens and it falls and kills someone.

Seems like visa in Norway only cover approx $1000 so can't win there.

I know the shops going to want it back for another repair. Means 2 months of a new product that I have flown once and wasted 2 months of a warranty. Rediculous that a DJI product can have so many faults.

Loved my old Inspire. Hate this one. :-(

However thanks again for your help everyone.

Cheers. John.

 

[The Editor]

I

Hi there.

Thanks for the advice.

I asked 20 times for a new product. 3 defects when it was delivered. 2 more now. I've only had it less than a few days and all these problems. I was told I HAD to get it repaired. This means shops can ship out faulty products. Even products they have dropped or damaged themselves (demo and previously returned products) and then get the manufacturer to pay for repairs.

I will never trust this drone again. 5 faults that I know about. What happens when the 6th happens and it falls and kills someone.

Seems like visa in Norway only cover approx $1000 so can't win there.

I know the shops going to want it back for another repair. Means 2 months of a new product that I have flown once and wasted 2 months of a warranty. Rediculous that a DJI product can have so many faults.

Loved my old Inspire. Hate this one. :-(

However thanks again for your help everyone.

Cheers. John.

I would strongly advise you to investigate your credit card situation further.
Don't forget you didn't buy the Inspire - your credit card company did. They are party to the contract and pay the vendor. This makes them jointly and severably liable for the transaction. Although they REALLY do not like consumers knowing this fact in many countries you can claim a refund from your CC company for faulty goods. There is no upper limit for this (well £100,000). This is completely separate from any insurance or terms they may offer, this is contract law.
I would investigate it further for your location. Remember, they will resist it as much as possible and the idiots in the fall centres will probably not even know of this fact.

Good luck.

One final thing - I would name and shame the dealer on this forum so other members avoid them like the plague.

 

[John Robinson]

Good morning! I have written an email to DJI to see their opinion of this. Not sure if they will do anything but its worth a try. As expected the company wants to repair it again. I have asked why even after repairing the original faults and testing it they themselves did not notice the fault with the travel mode and the leaking feet. Anyway this is the company I purchased it from in Norway. www.elefun.no As I said before the guy repairing it had send me a copy of his certificate showing he had been trained in Shenzhen but why did he not notice leaking feet? It was the first thing I noticed (yes I was going over the drone with a fine tooth comb) and I am curious why he bothered sending it back without fixing it? Ah well lets see what happens. Spending so much money on a product that I dare not fly seems stupid now. Luckily it at least does look good on my desk!

Thanks all, have a great day wherever you are based in the world! ;-)

 

[John Robinson]

Just got this from the shop:

"We have checked the movement of the arms while in transport mode on a new model, and it is the same there.

This will be eliminated when the arms are raised / in flight."

 

[John Robinson]

FFS just realised what he wrote.

Quote "
All 4 landing legs / dampeners passed our checklist, and we have footage of the landings so this have to have happened during or after transport.

Unfortunately you cannot change the landing leg / dampener yourself so it has to be returned to us if you want it to be fixed."

So now I am being accused. This goes from bad to worse!

 

[John Robinson]

Good morning all and Happy Easter!

I decided to write directly to DJI after all. I was extremely unhappy and felt like I had wasted a bucket load of cash for nothing. I started my message in big letters asking for a manager / Director to respond and this morning I received this email:

Dear Sir,

after reading the complete E-mail, I am sorry to hear you had a lot of trouble,

I can talk about the bad repairs etc. but that is not helping to solve this issue.

normally we would repair it, but since this is a special case, and I want to take it seriously, this is what I personally can offer you.

1) we will bring your unit here by providing you an UPS return ticket, this way you don't have to pay for this shipment.
2) as soon as we receive your inspire PRO, we will swap it for a brand new one.
3) with your permission, we will update it, test fly it, en check every single screw.
4) I will include an extra battery, for an extra compensation for your faulty product.
5) and send it out on the same day.

I truly believe you are sick of it, but this can be arranged in a really quick time.

please contact me as soon as possible.

Thank you.

Best regards,
DJI support (Europe)
--------------------------------------------------

I've gone from having a sick feeling in my stomach to a much happier feeling. Thank you everyone for all your advice and help. When its all panned out I will update you all.

Cheers.

John.